Food security: Africa needs all hands on deck

The African Union (AU) last month adopted a new agricultural development strategy aimed at, among others, increasing the continent’s food output by 45 percent and transforming its systems as part of its agenda to make the continent food secure by 2035.

The Extraordinary Summit on the Post-Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) held in Kampala, Uganda, adopted a 10-year strategy and action Plan, and the Kampala CAADP Declaration on Building Resilient and Sustainable Agrifood Systems in Africa.

CAADP aims to raise agricultural productivity, increase public investment, and stimulate economic growth through agriculture-led development. African leaders committed to intensify sustainable food production, agro-industrialisation, and trade.

They set six commitments, all hinging around the shift from the stress on agricultural transformation to the broader, all-encompassing food systems. A key commitment is to boost investment and financing in transforming agri-food systems.

CAADP was launched in 2003 following the Maputo Declaration and reaffirmed in 2014 with the Malabo Declaration, with the aim of improving food security and nutrition, and increasing incomes from farming.

A key commitment of the Malabo Declaration was for African countries to devote 10 percent of their annual budgets to agriculture, a target that has largely been missed.

Read: AYORO: What Ruto needs to do to meet his food and nutrition security targets

The report of the fourth biennial review of the implementation of the Malabo transformation agenda released in 2024 indicates that no country was on track to meet all the seven Malabo commitments by 2025, although 26 had seen their scores improve since the previous cycle.

So, will Kampala work where Maputo and Malabo stumbled?

Many are hopeful that the Kampala Declaration will succeed because it includes a comprehensive strategy and action plan, complete with realistic and implementable strategic objectives, a broad policy scope enhancing food system approaches, and targets that reflect the continent's aspirations.

Indeed, the framework emphasises sustainability, inclusivity, and resilience. Yet past experiences indicate that policy declarations often face significant challenges due to inadequate funding, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and weak institutional frameworks. The odds against the Maputo and Malabo declarations went beyond strategy to include countries’ competing interests such as health and education.

This calls for innovative ways of raising money. Without concrete investment strategies and policy enforcement mechanisms, the Kampala Declaration risks becoming another aspirational document with little impact on smallholder farmers and food security. This must not be allowed to happen.

All hands must be on deck, hence the calls in Kampala for multi-sectoral coordination, increased investments and the adoption of innovative practices.

The Kampala Declaration comes at a critical time when there are a number of challenges compounding the landscape for African governments to fully implement such declarations.

These challenges range from climate change, political instability in some countries, and the recent shift in US policy on USAid which has historically provided crucial financing and technical support to various sectors, including agriculture.

This makes urgent the need for African governments to rethink resourcing for food systems and develop self-sufficient financing mechanisms. The critical question remains whether African governments will proactively mobilise domestic resources and implement innovative financing models to avert stagnation in agricultural development.

Thought leadership initiatives are crucial. Domestic investment in food systems must become a priority within national budgets, shifting from short-term relief to long-term development strategies. This includes funding infrastructure—such as irrigation, storage facilities, and rural roads—and creating policies that facilitate farmer access to affordable credit and insurance.

Diversified financing mechanisms are essential to reducing dependence on external donors. Public-private partnerships will be critical for ensuring private sector engagement in food systems.

Additionally, tapping into African diaspora remittances, impact investing, and crowdfunding platforms could provide innovative ways to finance local agricultural initiatives. That said, governments must develop transparent systems to effectively mobilise these funds.

Strengthening regional cooperation is also vital. CAADP and other regional frameworks need revitalisation, emphasising intra-African trade and cross-border investments in agricultural value chains.

By reducing trade barriers and improving regional agricultural policies, African governments can create a unified and resilient agricultural market less vulnerable to shocks such as climate change, pandemics and international policy shifts.

In short, political will and thought leadership are crucial for success. By focusing on domestic investment, diversified financing mechanisms, enabling policies, regional collaboration, climate resilience and removal of bureaucratic hurdles, African governments can establish robust, sustainable food systems without having to rely on external aid.

They must also empower farmers and other actors between farm and mouth.

The call to work together has never been louder.

The writer is the Lead, Rootooba and Director, Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainability (Finas) 2025 Dialogue